


Something Missing Tonight

by muchclsr



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Blow Jobs, Double Crossing, F/M, Heists, Jace is a prickly guy and not everyone likes him, M/M, Maryse Lightwood mentioned - Freeform, Pandemonium Club, Robert Lightwood mentioned - Freeform, Sexual Content, mentions of anti-LGBTQ, the Lightwood siblings love each other a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-25 22:22:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15650097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muchclsr/pseuds/muchclsr
Summary: Alexander Lightwood - Head of the team hired to steal back paintings from Magnus Bane.Magnus Bane - The man who ruined a heist and made off with over a million dollars in paintings.The job is simple; Alec and his team have been hired to recover the stolen paintings. The only problem? The more involved Alec becomes in the job, the more complicated it seems.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone, thank you for clicking on this fic! This is the longest thing I've ever written and I'm so, so, so proud of it - it's basically my baby. A whole lot of people helped to get this fic to where is it today so I want to thank all of the lovely people!
> 
> All of my love to Jet who slogged through everything and edited it all. (All of the tenses and commas). To your group of friends who pitched it and looked this over, thank you!!!
> 
> To Catastrokey, thank you so much for making an amazing piece of art! You are a champion. It is so beautiful, I love it! To Mansikka, thank you for making the banner!! I feel so proud to have a banner like what?! You did an excellent job!
> 
> Now I leave you with Catastrokey's piece! (Major, major shoutout to everyone who helped me to post the image, much love to mansikka who worked some magic and figured it out for me!!)  
> 

_2005 - Connecticut_

The heat had turned the air heavy, making it feel as if it was a set of hands, physically pressing down on Lorenzo’s throat, threatening to choke him.

It was hot, much hotter than either Lorenzo, or the citizens of Connecticut had expected. They’d both woken up to be greeted by a record breaking high, with the promise of relief in the form of rain, which had yet to come. Despite the overwhelming humidity, Lorenzo had waited it out all day. The whole time he sat, waiting in a borrowed electrical truck he’d parked across the street, watching one house in particular.

The house wasn’t anything special in comparison to all of the other McMansions that lined the street. It had the same thrown-together mix of architecture, too few windows on the side, and a four car garage for what he could only presume to be were SUV’s. It was nearly identical in every way, right down to the shit brown shade of paving stones that lined its walkway. And yet, it was the only house in a hundred mile radius Lorenzo was willing to stake out all day in the blistering heat, because of what it held inside.

There had been talk of pieces of a rare collection, thought to have been lost after the war, having turned up right here, in this particular family’s possession. Originally, the job had gone to some two-bit newbie MB-something; Lorenzo hadn’t bothered for details on his name. After finally tracking down someone who knew this kid, he was able to convince him, or rather his representative, to let Lorenzo in on the job.

“Who even has a fucking representative?” He grumbled to himself.

Not only did this kid have a representative; but he had probably one of the most hardest to find, and pretentious ones to boot. Lorenzo had to ask around at three different bars before finally hearing about someone that could connect him to this kid. When he finally found the rep in a shitty dive bar, the guy had practically thrown the case at him. His almost begging attitude was at such odds with his ridiculous suit, and posh accent.

Lorenzo waited a few more minutes in silence, feeling himself grow hot, as beads of sweat trickle down his back before finally seeing a flash of something move. He squinted across the street, just making out the shape of a human lingering near the sidewalk. Lorenzo straightened up, before he checked his watch. It was quarter past two in the morning, so that blurry figure must be his colleague.

After straightening himself out, so as to look presentable, he wiped the sweat forming on his brow, opened the truck’s backdoors and stepped out. Lorenzo made his way across the road, taking slow purposeful strides; this kid had made him wait all day, now he was going to have to wait.

The kid called out to Lorenzo. “You should really pay more attention, you could have been hit you know.”

Lorenzo scoffed at the greeting.

“I’ve been waiting here all fucking day, no car is going to come speeding down this street at this time of night.” He quickly glanced at the other man. Practically rolling his eyes he spoke, “And you wore all black, really? What, did you forget your ski mask in the wash?”

MB-something glared at him. “And you wore an electrician outfit, why?”

Did this kid really know nothing? Lorenzo thought. “I’ve been posing like this all day, knocked on the owner’s door saying I was there to check his breaker. Plus, the poor sap paid me five hundred to take a look at his air conditioner. With this outfit I’ll have an excuse if we get caught. I was just here to get some tools I left behind earlier.”

He got a raised eyebrow in response. “Did you get any useful information today, or did you just manage to rip-off someone?”

“There’s five paintings in total. I couldn’t get a clear answer on where they are, but there’s two somewhere upstairs. The remaining three are downstairs in the sitting room,” Lorenzo said. MB-something nodded his head in confirmation

What an idiot, Lorenzo thought. Just trusting I’m telling the truth.

“The owner is planning on moving them to get them appraised two days from now. I’ve got the passcode for their security system. I’ll be going in through the front, you’ll have to go in through the back.”

The man gave him a look of disbelief. “You’ll be fine once you get back there. On the right side of the house, the furthest window is easy to shift up. Just find a way to get to it. We’ll meet back out front in twenty minutes and load everything into the van.” He gestured behind himself to the van.

“And if it rains, do you have covers for the paintings?”

This time, Lorenzo did roll his eyes. “Look, kid, I’ve been here all day, there was no rain. It isn’t going to rain. Just worry about finding the paintings okay?”

MB-something nodded. “Fine. See you in twenty,” he said before backing up and turning to make his way into the backyard.

Lorenzo watched the kid fade into the shadows of the nearby trees before starting towards the front door himself. Thankfully, the family who lived here were idiots who didn’t have motion activated lights, so he was able to make it to the door without giving himself away. He pulled out a dummy key and a wire and began the delicate process of picking it open.

After a few nearly inaudible clicks, the door swung open. Lorenzo jumped forward to grab the handle before it could smash back into the wall. He grabbed it just in time and quickly shut the door. But not before getting a glance of the landscape outside.

Although it had been relatively calm all day, the trees were now shaking in the wind. The violent gust of air ripped through the neighborhood, tearing leaves from trees, and threatening to topple over garbage cans.

Odd, Lorenzo thought.

He shrugged off the sudden windstorm and turned his attention back to the house, before carefully making his way through the front entryway. He passed under a gaudy chandelier, its frame so oversized that all he’d need would be a step-stool to grab a low- hanging crystal.

This is what they’ve chosen to keep in the entryway, he thought. Yes, of course. Keep the eyesore of a chandelier in the front hall and shove the million dollar paintings in the attic, why don’t you? What idiots.

Lorenzo made it to the glass-paned double doors that marked the entrance to the sitting room, and quickly opened them both, knowing he would need the extra space to move the paintings out later. The moon chose that particular moment to hide behind a cloud, leaving the room in utter darkness, and forcing Lorenzo to rely on his poorly adjusted eyes to navigate the room. He carefully strode towards the wall opposite the doors. Lorenzo took small, purposeful steps, making sure not to bump into anything along the way. When he reached the wall, he immediately froze.

There, in front of him, stood one big empty wall.

There was a slight layer of dust that had formed behind the paintings, clearly outlining their shape on the wall. Lorenzo blinked, taken aback for a moment. He froze, almost as if in a state of shock before jumping to action.

He spun around, and began hurriedly striding back across the room. Lorenzo smacked his hip into a nearby piece of furniture, and grimaced slightly at the sharp sting of pain. Reaching the set of double doors that lead to the picturesque living room, he violently threw them open. They smacked the wall behind them, but Lorenzo paid the sound little mind, completely uncaring of the physical evidence they would leave behind.

 

He took a few steps into the room, but he already knew the sight that waited to greet him. Here as well, the wall where the last two paintings had previously hung was blank. The emptiness of the wall mocking him.

“Fuck!” Lorenzo practically screamed out. He turned, ready to leave and cut his losses when he heard it.

The whole time, there had been something nagging him at the back of his mind. He had pushed it off, too focused on the task of hand and the sense of panic. But now that the reality of the situation had sunk in, Lorenzo realized exactly what had been nagging him.

Footsteps. The sound of pounding feet, their loud echoing thumps ringing throughout the house. He froze for a second time, as the sound grew louder, getting closer towards him. Snapping out of it, he quickly turned, eyes darting around for any exit.

Lorenzo was in the middle of his run towards a nearby window when his backside was flooded with light. His shadow was thrown onto the wall in front of him, and in the reflection of the window pain he could make out the shape of multiple bodies coming towards him.

The sound of shouting joined the chorus of pounding feet behind him. Each voice over lapped one another, making it impossible to distinguish one speaker from another. Lorenzo understood that there was no escape from his current situation, and accepting his defeat, turned around.

As he turned, he was blinded by the bright white light. Lorenzo’s eyes immediately closed of their own volition, and he raised a hand to shield his eyes from the bright light that seemed to be trained on him.

He squinted past the glare, and was able to make out the form of a tall figure standing before him. Behind the main figure Lorenzo could just see the general shape of a group of people, they stood practically shoulder to shoulder and seemed to be the source of the yelling.

The main figure stepped forward, and blocked a small ray of light. Lorenzo could see now that the man in front of him was dressed in a police uniform, and stood with his arms raised, pointed at Lorenzo. In his hands, he held a gun pointed at Lorenzo.

“Police! Get on your knees, I said get on your knees!”


	2. Chapter Two

_Present Day - New York City_

“Oh thank God, I’m finally able to get through to you! I’ve been calling for days now and that secretary of yours - what’s his name? Ragie? Each time he tells me you’re busy!”

Alec interjected, “It’s Raj, Mrs. Hackle.”

A flirty laugh was heard from the phone. “Oh, none of that last name formality- I’ve known you since you were in diapers, Alexander. And you know I go by Ms. now Poor Thomas, God rest his soul, has been dead for years now.”

It wasn’t the first time in his life Alec had gotten someone to field all calls from Ms. Hackle. He’d known the old lady for all his life. She’d seen him pee his pants at an important business get together when he was six, almost ruining his family’s priceless living room rug. She’d been there for his awkward, gangly, and acne filled teenage years, and most certainly was there for his dramatic coming out when he was eighteen. He cringed at the memory. Falling out of a closet in the middle of a makeout session with the client’s teenage son was not a high point. 

Regardless of how embarrassing it was looking back at the moment, it had gotten the message across to everyone in their industry - he was gay. Except judging by her persistent calling and flirty laugh, Ms. Hackle somehow was unable to put two and two together. 

“Ms. Hack-“

He was interrupted. “Georgina, dear-“

“Ms. Hackle-” This time he said it forcefully. “While it’s very terrible what happened to you, we don’t accept any jobs without at least fifteen percent up front.”

“Yes, yes, I know that.” She practically huffed. “You Lightwoods are all the same, demanding a part of the money up front. Back in my day, we had trust in one another. You could run a job for someone and there would be no question over the payment.” 

Alec rubbed his forehead in frustration. “Ms. Hackle.”

“Oh, where was I? Yes, yes. Carolyn! You see, dear, Carolyn was new to my area, didn’t know a soul when she moved here. So of course, I took pity on her and invited her to our book club. But her behaviour lately, it’s just been utterly appalling! She’s staged a coup to get me kicked out of my own book club! Imagine that, a book club without its leader, and to kick out the only person who actually reads the books too!”

Well, Alec thought. Maybe they’re kicking you out because you’re extremely annoying.

“But then - then it gets worse! She spread around a rumour that my beautiful hand-painted plates are fake gold, when she knows they’re a gift from my mother. But now she’s claimed I’ve pawned off my jewelry collection to pay for my son’s gambling debts and instead, I’ve been wearing fakes! I would never do such a thing, and Connor’s had his habit under control for years now! I can’t let this behaviour continue any longer. Ever since she moved here, she’s been bragging about a Caravaggio she acquired a few years back; I want you to take it off her hands. Let’s see how she likes losing something of her own.”

At the mention of a Caravaggio Alec paused. Alec had no real love for art, but even he knew Caravaggio was an incredibly talented artist. To see such a level of artistry up close, to hold the work of a great master in his hands would be a remarkable moment.

There was also the matter of the extremely large paycheck he would receive from lifting such a valuable piece of art. Not to mention the potential for added pay if he was asked to fence the piece, or the very real potential of possible future business from Carolyn to get the painting back. 

“Well,” Alec started. “I’d have to consult with the rest of the team first before agreeing to anything. But, I am open to potentially working something out.”

Ms. Hackle exhaled sharply. “Oh Alexander, this is just marvellous. I knew you would be right for the job.”

“Now Ms.Hackle I haven’t agreed yet-” She cut him off before he could continue.

“Oh yes, formalities and all that. I expect I’ll receive a phone call in a few days’ time to meet and discuss the finer details.” There was a momentary pause. “I look forward to seeing you, but this time, don’t keep me waiting.” Alec held back the urge to cringe at the low ‘sultry’ tone of her voice and the thinly veiled come-on. 

While it wasn’t agreed that Alec’s team would take on the job, it was obvious to both parties they would. And the idea of once again dealing with a flirty Ms. Hackle was not something that he was looking forward to.

Alec quickly ended the call before anything more could be said and jotted down a few notes for the potential job. Carolyn had held a housewarming party a few months ago, so he was well acquainted with the layout of the house. But, there’d been no sign of the painting. They would have to see if someone could be sent in to gather a more precise location of the painting. Jace might have to charm a few old ladies to momentarily join the book club. Alec would also have to ensure everything was planned down to the t; they had to take extra care in making sure it wasn’t obvious they were responsible. It was a little rude to rob a new neighbor. 

As he finished, he glanced at the clock and realized it was pushing a quarter past three. Deciding now was as good a time as ever to head out for lunch, Alec closed his laptop and grabbed his jacket, double checking to make sure he had his keys and wallet in his pocket.

He opened the door to his office, and spotted something he had forgotten to include in his notes. Raj. 

The young man wasn’t a new hire by any standards, but he did make occasional simple mistakes: such as forgetting to reply to every email, instead of just flagging them for later; forgetting to switch the phone to route all incoming calls to voicemail instead of sending them directly to Alec’s line after repeated calling. 

“Ah, Raj. There you are, back from lunch now?” 

Raj took a moment to finish typing before looking at Alex. “Yes, sir, and while I was at lunch your sister left a message for you.” He turned towards his desk and after lifting a few loose papers, handed Alec a sticky note. 

Found us a new case, meet in the conference room to discuss - Izzy 

Izzy approaching Alec with a potential case wasn’t anything new, they had all brought possible cases to each other’s attention. But from Izzy’s message, it sounded less like a potential case, and more like a done deal. Something that almost never happened.

Since they first went into business together, Izzy had always dealt with both the equipment and the action part of the job, splitting her time equally between the two. She ensured they had all the newest tools and wasn’t afraid to use her charm to get information out of the marks. 

Alec was the one who took care of the business end of things. He rarely ever went out into the field, instead choosing to focus on collecting information, planning the heists to make sure everything went off without a hitch, or dealing with clients. 

But if Izzy had not only found a case, but also agreed to potentially take it? Now that was intriguing. 

He sent a quick text to Izzy letting her know he was on his way to the conference room and to make sure Jace was there when he arrived. Alec turned and gave his coat to Raj. 

“Hang this up for me? Looks like I won’t be going out for lunch, after all.”

\- - -

Alec crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, drumming his fingers on his forearm as he processed what Izzy had said.

“Alright, sounds easy enough. It’s just five paintings, we’ve done more before. So why all the interest?”

Izzy grinned, leaning forward to rest her palms on the table. “Because it’s our favourite kind of case- a revenge case.”

She moved to sit across from Alec, laptop in front of her and clicked a few keys. The lights dimmed, and the projector whirled to life, its low purring the only noise in the room. 

A picture of a smiling middle-aged man appeared. The look on his face was one of self satisfaction. “This is Lorenzo Rey, originally from Spain. His family immigrated here when he was six and a few years later, he was caught for petty theft.”

Alec spoke up, “what’d he get caught for?”

“Stealing.”

Alec arched an eyebrow at her. “And we care because?”

“Half a dozen walkman, and two cassette tapes.” Izzy gave him a look at she said it.

He raised his hands in an ‘I give up’ motion. “Okay, continue on.”

She turned her attention back to the computer.

The picture changed to one of a black two story industrial style house. “Today, he lives and operates out of this building. He sold a statue he lifted a few years back, took that money and doubled it in stocks. Currently, he focuses mostly on low scale jobs, travelling back home whenever possible.”

“Okay, so he seemed like a fairly solid client. Who’s our target, and where is Jace? I thought I said he needed to be here.”

Just as Alec finished, the door began to open and Jace slowly walked in. “Sorry I’m late, was getting extra info on the mark.”

“Mhm, and some random employee had the information you needed? You’ve made the whole Clary situation too weird for you to deal with?” 

Jace’s head snapped up and he looked at Alec. His face went blank. “I-uh. How?”

Alec gestured towards his cheek. “You’ve got some lipstick marks.” 

“And unless you’ve gained a sudden love for Cherry Blossom number 3, you’ve got some on your lips too,” Izzy chimed in.

This time, Jace had the sense to be embarrassed. He rubbed at his slightly pink face for a moment before giving up. “My relationship with Clary is not important right now, we have other things to deal with.”

He slid into the seat next to Izzy and pulled the laptop in front of him. An Instagram page had replaced the PowerPoint.

The room was quiet as they all watched Jace scroll through the page. There were pictures of beautiful plates of food and intricate latte art, some images of a fluffy cat, and the obligatory club photo. It was exceedingly normal. 

This time Alec’s voice was flat as he spoke. “What am I looking at.”

“Meet Magnus Bane-”

“No.” Alec interrupted. “Are we fourteen again, desperate for anything that falls into our lap? I’m not hitting a civilian, especially not one that hasn’t done anything wrong.”

A smile passed between Izzy and Jace before he spoke again. “He’s not a civilian. Well he is, but he’s one of us. Or at least he used to be.”

Alex nodded his head. “Alright, continue.”

An image of a young Magnus Bane filled the screen. He wore heavy black eye makeup and had scrunched up his face for the camera. 

“This is Bane in two thousand and five, taken just a few weeks before he ran a heist with Lorenzo.”

Izzy spoke up, “Oh God, that makeup.”

Alec smiled. “I think we all made bad decisions in two thousand and five, I remember someone going through her emo phase then.” 

She cringed.

“Anyways, go on,” Alec said.

Jace continued on, a small smile on his face. “The two of them were supposed to break into a house in Connecticut and lift five paintings the family had. Which we all know, is a simple job. So the two split up, except then Lorenzo gets pinched at the house. He was the only one to get caught.”

The image changed to one of a large warehouse, the sign outside read Pandemonium. “A few years go by, Magnus resurfaces in New York, and opens this nightclub. No sign of the paintings, but he’s suddenly got a hell of a lot more cash.”

Alec bit the inside of his cheek, working the skin between his teeth. “Alright, so Lorenzo wants us to get Bane back for him. Contact Lorenzo, let him know we’ll take the job, and ask to meet soon.”

The lights flickered on, and Alec blinked a few times waiting for his eyes to adjust. Around him, Jace and Izzy began to make their way around the room, ready to move onto the next part of their day. 

Alec sat silently, staring at the image of Bane on the wall. The overhead light made the image faint and hard to see; the only real visible detail was the hint of darkness around his eyes. The projection disappeared as Izzy powered off the laptop and Alec was left staring at the blank wall.

“Whatever this is, I don’t like it.” Jace stopped at Alec’s words. His hand was on the doorknob, ready to leave and no doubt return to his mystery woman.

He turned to face Alec, but stayed silent. “He’s hired us to do what he does. There’s something going on here, we have to be careful.”

The corner of Jace’s mouth began to rise. “We’re always careful.”

“Yeah,” Alec answered, his voice faint. 

\- - -

“You sure this is the place?” Jace asked.

Alec leaned back, looking at the shiny blank paneling on the house, before he knocked on the front door once more. “Yes, this is the only industrial building on the street, and this is the address he gave us.”

Jace sighed and crossed his arms. “So, then what? Why isn’t he answering the door?” 

He leaned on the doorbell, as he banged on the door with an open palm. “Hello!” Jace shouted. “We’re here!”

Izzy pulled his arm back. “Stop that, you idiot.”

Jace glared at her. “You want him to answer the door or not?” He went back to holding down the doorbell. “Hello-”

The door suddenly opened. Lorenzo stood in the doorway, a tight smile on his face.

“Ah, hello. You must be the Lightwoods.”

Jace greeted him before Alec could, “Yeah, and we’ve been waiting here the whole time. You forget you invited us here?”

The smile on Lorenzo’s face grew even tighter. “No, I was just doing some last minute tasks. You know how it is, the time just seems to slip away sometimes.” 

He extended his hand towards the three of them. “And you must be Alec. What a pleasure to meet you.”

Alec firmly shook his hand. “Yes, thank you.”

Lorenzo clasped his hands behind his back, not bothering to shake anyone else's hand. “Please come in. We have much to discuss.”

The three siblings followed him inside, and Alec immediately noticed how over the top the house had been decorated. Multiple paintings hung on every wall, there were rich, lush fabrics everywhere. It was a blatant display of wealth.

Lorenzo lead them into the living room and went directly to the drink cart. “Would anyone care for a drink?”

Izzy declined with a smile.

He motioned towards Alec. “Anything for you-”

Jace cut him off. “Yeah, actually do you have something strong? Like vodka?”

Lorenzo visibly clenched his jaw. “Yes, of course. Alec, anything for you?

“Just whiskey, thank you.” 

Lorenzo nodded and began to fix them their drinks. Once the drinks were prepared, Lorenzo took a seat closest to the fireplace. Izzy and Alec followed suit, sitting on the couch directly across from him. Jace stood.

Izzy spoke first. “What interesting interior design you have.”

Lorenzo took a sip of his drink. “Yes. I like to fill my homes with objects from my past. I want to remember everywhere I’ve been. Especially after how the job with Bane ended. That whole thing made me realize how fleeting life is.” He shook his head, face downturned.

“Fascinating.” Izzy replied.

“Yes, it was all quite a shame, really. You see, originally I was supposed to be working alone. I had heard that a stolen art collection had turned up in Connecticut, so I decided to steal it to return it to the original owners once I found them. Bane was new to the business. So, when he asked to join in, I agreed. You know I never miss a teaching opportunity.”

He crossed his legs before continuing. “When the day arrived, the whole thing went downhill from the beginning. Bane was late and hadn’t prepared at all - I don’t know why I went forward with the whole thing anyway. But, I had promised to myself I would take him under my wing. So we went out to do our tasks and suddenly, I’m being caught by the police-”

Jace interrupted, “I hate to ask, but where’s your washroom? We were waiting out there for a while and this vodka, it really moved fast.”

Lorenzo grimaced. “Yes, of course. Just down the hall, third door on the right.”

Jace raised his empty glass in thanks before leaving it on a side table and turning into the hall. 

Lorenzo watched him go, making a face at his coasterless glass. 

“You were saying something about the police?” Alec prompted. 

That seemed to snap Lorenzo out of it, and he turned back to them and continued on. “Yes. Once I get out of prison, I immediately being asking around about the paintings. That poor family still being left without their rightful paintings after all that time, it’s a shame.”

Izzy nodded her head, a solemn look on her face. “Oh, yes.”

“I couldn’t find the paintings again, but Bane’s name did come up a number of times. It seems he took the paintings for himself and sold them off to the highest bidder.”

Izzy gasped. “Oh, that’s terrible.”

Lorenzo shook his head. “Yes, it’s just so sad. That family will never be reunited with their heirlooms again.”

There was the sound of a distant crash before Jace returned once more. 

“Hey, Lorenzo. Sorry, but do you have another washroom? This one’s all out of paper.” He held up an empty toilet paper roll as proof.

\- - -

They made it to Alec’s car before anyone spoke. “That was laying it on a little thick there, Iz,” Alec said, hitting the unlock button.

Izzy waved her hand at him as she slid into the passenger seat. “It’s fine, he had his head too far up his ass to even tell.” She twisted around to look at Jace in the backseat as the car began to move. “And what about you mr. I need to use the washroom.”

She lowered her voice a few octaves. “Uh this one’s out of toilet paper.” She spoke normally again. “What the hell did you do in there?”

Jace opened his mouth to speak, and she raised her hand. “Actually I don’t want to know. Nope I do not want to know about your bowel movements.” 

Alec and Jace both laughed. “So you’re telling me you don’t want to receive washroom updates again? But you loved the last one I sent you.” Jace says.

“Yeah, I loved opening a ‘emergency’ text message from my brother to see a pile of fresh shit. You ruined that date for me.”

Jace chuckled. “All I did was clog his toilet. Stuffed two whole rolls of toilet paper down there.”

Alec gave him a look in the rear view mirror. “What it was either that or break the whole toilet! This one seemed more likely, and I needed enough time to look around.”

The car made a sharp turn. “And, what’d you find out?” Alec asked.

“I texted pictures of the paintings to Clary and yeah they’re all forgeries. She said one or two of them are her mom’s work.”

“So,” Izzy asked, “you’re talking to Clary again?”

Jace made a non committal sound. “It’s complicated.”

Izzy scoffed. “Yeah no kidding. You hooked up with some girl at the bar two days after your first date with Clary. Then you hit on her best friend the next time you saw him.”

“Hey!” Jace yelled. “We weren’t official or anything, I apologized right after. And I never hit on Simon okay? Everything I said to him was totally hetero.”

Alec interrupted. “Alright, as funny as it is to discuss Jace’s muddled love life-”

“Excuse me!” Jace cut in indignantly. 

Alec continued on. “If Lorenzo has only fakes in his house, where would he be getting the money to pay us? And I still don’t understand why he hired us to do something he can clearly do himself.”

The car was silent for a few moments as they all thought it over. 

“I have no idea. This whole thing makes no sense,” Izzy said.

Alex gripped the steering wheel tighter. “I know.”


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sexual content ahead!

_A Few Weeks Later (Saturday) - New York City_

The music in the club was loud. It seemingly shook the walls of the building, wrapping around the crowd. The heavy bass found its way to Alec at his spot at the bar, where it travelled through his feet and reverbated in his chest. 

He looked out across the darkened room, hoping to see quickly spot Izzy with her all white ensemble. The bright flashing lights passed over the crowd, momentarily illuminating a handful of dancers, but Alec couldn’t find his sister. He lifted his glass to take a sip, groaning at the burn of the whiskey as it slid down his throat, before warming his chest.

He lifted a hand to his ear, pretending he was scratching it and spoke. “Anything yet?” The current song ended as he waited for a response from his siblings.

Izzy answered first. “Nothing on the floor, I’ve made my way through twice. No sign of him.”

“Jace?” Alec asked. “Anything by the booths?”

The sound of female laughter was the only thing heard over the coms. “Jace,” Alec tried again.

“One second.” The sound of laughter continued. This time, Alec could hear the murmuring of a deep male voice in between the giggles. Alec waited for an answer, lightly sloshing the liquor in his glass.

Jace’s voice came back again. “Alright, Bane’s just finished his lap around the booths. He just passed by mine, and it looks like he’s heading towards the dancefloor now. Do you have eyes on him Izzy?” 

“Yup, I see him in the crowd. He’s not stopping to dance. It looks like he’s making his way towards the bar. Alec, it’s on you.”

Alec downed the rest of his drink and moved to flag down the bartender. They’d each been here about a dozen times in the past month, trying to get a sense of Bane’s pattern. 

So far they’d narrowed it down to four days he always showed. He made an appearance every other Wednesday during Ladies Night, made only one round of the club, and spent a while checking in with the bartenders before leaving. 

Every Friday, like clockwork, he’d show up at eleven thirty, head straight to his personal booth and stay there for an hour. After keeping a watch on everything, he’d make a quick stop to speak to whoever had rented out a VIP booth for the night, before heading to the dance floor. After dancing for a few songs, he would leave with someone, taking them back to his place in Brooklyn some blocks over. He repeated the same pattern on Saturdays. But, on Sunday’s would show up at ten o’clock and head to the backroom for a few hours before leaving, alone.

Bane had slightly deviated from schedule today. He’s stayed at his personal booth for less than an hour, and had instead made a quick visit to all of the booths - not just the VIP one. All that was left for him to do was to pick out someone to go home with.

Alec sat back to wait for his drink and took a quick look around the area. The change in songs had prompted a rush of people towards the bar. On his right was a rowdy Bachelorette party in which all members were three sheets to the wind. Pressing up on his left was the beginning of a line, loud club goers waving their arms in a desperate attempt to get the bartender's attention. There was no sign of Bane.

The bartender placed his drink in front of him, and after nodding his head in appreciation, Alec got up to move. He turned around and came face to face with Bane.

A soft “oh” made its way past his lips.

The photos from Instagram had told Alec he was attractive, but standing in front of Bane now it was clear they didn’t do him justice. The two were close in height, something Alec appreciated with his five eleven frame. Bane had very clearly toned down the dramatic eye makeup for the night, and Alec was now able to focus in on his dark brown eyes. Eyes which were currently roaming Alec’s body in a very obvious appreciative manner.

“Well, hello there.” He was staring at Alec’s neck, or more specifically, the hint of skin exposed by his unbuttoned shirt collar. Banes eyes made their way up his face, pausing momentarily to stop at his lips before their eyes met.

“I’m Magnus Bane.” He extended a tanned hand towards Alec. 

Alec froze, taken by surprise. This was way out of his realm of normal. Izzy and Jace were the ones who dealt with people. He was only supposed to be here tonight to keep an eye out on his siblings, he wasn’t supposed to make contact with Bane at all.

Alec’s com crackled to life, his sister’s voice coming in loud and clear. “Alec, what are you doing, you idiot? Shake his hand!”

He quickly grabbed the other man’s hand, noticing the many silver rings that adorned his fingers and the warmth of his palm.

“Alec,” he said, maintaining eye contact the entire time.

Jace’s voice came through this time. “Look, you’re going to have to kick it a hell of a lot up. This is gold right here. He approached you! We don’t have to do any extra leg work.”

Alec dropped his hand. 

“Alec, short for Alexander I presume?’ Bane raised an eyebrow.

“Just go with it, you fucking idiot! Flirt! Fucking flirt!” Izzy said.

A slow smile made its way across Alec’s face. “Yes, exactly.” He watched as Bane’s eyes once again roamed his body. Bane’s tongue darted out, wetting his lips. Alec couldn’t help it, his eyes locked onto that small flash of pink.

He stepped closer towards Bane, feeling the heat of his body. Bane looked at him, a coy smile on his own face. “What are you doing stuck at the bar? With a body like yours, you should be out on the floor.”

“I was waiting for someone.”

Bane raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Have you found them yet?”

Alec took another step forward. The two of them were now impossibly close. Alec could almost feel the outline of Bane’s body against his own. “Oh yeah.”

Bane reached out, resting his hands on Alec’s belt, carefully tugging the man closer. He raised his eyebrows in question, silently asking if the lack of distance was okay.

Alec nodded, then leaned in even further to plant a kiss on Bane’s jawline. He could feel a slight shiver pass through Bane’s body. “Do you want to get out of here?” He murmured into the other man’s ear.

He leaned back, awaiting an answer. Only to be pulled back in by his belt. Bane kissed him on his neck, lightly biting down.

“Oh, fuck yeah.”

\- - -

 

After a short cab ride, Alec stood in front of Bane’s apartment. He waited as the other man threw some money at the driver, taking in the area.

There were only a few other people on the street, one lone person coming home late, a handful of couples, and one homeless person. Minimal eye witnesses, it would be all too easy for his team to gain access to Bane’s apartment

The made the short walk two into the building, their hands swung between them, lightly touching as they walked. Once they got inside, Bane pressed himself up against Alec’s side, distracting him as they waited for the elevator. The lobby was silent, the only sound the slight squeaking their shoes made on the tiled floor. After only a moment of waiting, the elevator arrived, and they stepped inside. Alec stood off to the side, watching as Bane hit the button for the top floor.

Bane moved back to stand beside Alec, who immediately shifted so he stood directly in front of Bane. Alec raised his arms, boxing him in. He leaned forward, taking Bane’s earlobe into his mouth. Alec bite it gently, before releasing it. “Hm... penthouse?”

Bane’s hands came up to grab a fistful of Alec’s hair. “What can I say, I do well for myself.”

Alec roughly pressed his lips up against Bane’s, using his teeth to tug at the man’s lower lip. Bane pressed himself further up against Alec, tightening the grip he had in Alec’s hair. 

Before the two could get too lost in things, there was a loud ding, and the doors slid open. Bane quickly pushed himself off from the wall, pulling Alec with him as walked towards his apartment door. 

They stopped at the door marked four oh one, and Alec noted there was only one other door on the floor. With only one neighbour, even less of a chance they’d be seen entering and leaving.

After a quick moment of Bane fiddling with his keys in the lock, the door swung open and the two men rushed forward, hands all over one another. Alec barely managed to kick his shoes off before he was dragged towards the back of the apartment.

The quickly walked down the hallway, passing several doors before turning a corner. “Bedroom’s over here.” Bane said, head nodding in the direction of a solid black door.

They stopped as Bane opened the door with one hand, the other tangled up in Alec’s hand. The door opened, and Alec walked a few steps backwards before his knees hit the edge of the bed. He fell back, letting out a little ‘oomph’.

Bane grinned mischievously as he stood at the edge of the bed. “Did that scare you?”

Alec rolled his eyes, as he sat up reaching out towards Bane’s belt. He pulled him into the space in between his legs, before running his hands along Bane’s side. “Shut up,” Alec said.

Bane leaned down, capturing Alec’s mouth in a kiss, moving his own hands towards Alec’s belt. He struggled for a bit, getting too distracted in kissing Alec to pay close enough attention to removing Alec’s belt. Groaning in frustration, Alec pulled back from the kiss, moving to undo his own belt. while his other tugged at Alec’s belt. The door opened, and Alec was quickly pushed onto a bed. 

“One - just give me one second-” Alec pulled the belt through the loops, flinging it somewhere in the dark room. Bane stood there, slightly panting as he watched Alec pop the button on his jeans and begin to pull the zipper down.

Alec’s zipper was halfway down when Bane covered his hands with his own. Alec looked up in confusion. “Wait, let me.”

The two stared at each other for a moment, before Alec relented, leaning back on his elbows to watch instead. Bane slowly undid Alec’s zipper, and started to pull Alec’s pants off his hips. Alec slightly lifted himself up to make things easier for Bane.

Bane stared up at him, a slight smile on his face. “Thank you.”

Alec placed a hand on Bane’s cheeking, cupping his face, and rubbing Bane’s cheekbone with his thumb. Bane leaned into it, his eyes closing for a moment before pulling back and turning his attention back towards Alec’s crotch.

He quickly removed Alec’s boxers, before moving his head down to gently bite the skin at Alec’s hipbone. Bane bit down softly, and Alec could feel the indents in his skin Bane was leaving. Bane pulled back, and gave a small lick to the skin. Alec inhaled sharply as he felt himself twitch.

Bane moved his hand to grasp Alec in his hand, and gave a light squeeze. Alec’s head fell back. “Fuck, Bane.” He gave Alec a few experimental strokes before pulling his hand away.

“It’s Magnus.” He took Alec’s cock back in his hand, and this time gave him a slight squeeze at his base. 

Alec groaned, “Magnus.”

“There you go,” Magnus said in a low voice.

He then leaned in, and very slowly licked the head of Alec’s cock. He pulled back, using his hands to twist Alec’s base, before taking him down farther. Magnus licked Alec’s cock, swirling his tongue around the tip, before moving his attention to the underside.

Here Magnus traced Alec’s dick with his tongue, until he found the slightly thicker vein that ran through it. Focusing on that vein, Magnus traced it with his tongue as he worked to take more of Alec in his mouth.

The few inches he couldn’t fit in his mouth, Magnus instead worked with his hand. Stroking it, and twisting his hand around the shaft as he licked the side of Alec’s cock

Alec moaned out, throwing his head back. Magnus pulled off for a moment before returning to lick the side of Alec’s cock. “Magnus, just-”

Magnus pulled off again. “Yes, Alexander?”

Another groan from Alec. “Oh God, more.” Magnus took that as his queue and took Alec back into his mouth. Pushing himself to take even more this time. He held Alec’s cock there for a moment, before slightly gagging and pulling back.

When he shifted back to breath, a trail of saliva followed him. Connecting his mouth to Alec’s dick.

Alec moaned once more, and moved to wip the trail away. He was pulling back his hand when Magnus stopped him, taking Alec’s thumb into his mouth and lightly swirling his tongue around it.

At that, Alec grabbed Magnus, resting his hands on his shoulders and pulling Magnus towards himself. The two kissed for a moment, tongues exploring each other’s mouths before Magnus leaned back.

He took Alec back in his hand, working half of his cock with his hand while tapping the head of Alec’s dick on his tongue.

“Fuck,” Alec let out. He slightly moved his dick forward, pushing more into Magnus’ mouth, and the other man let him.

The two of them stayed like that for a while, Alec slowly feeding Magnus part of his cock before drawing it back out again. 

Finally, sensing that Alec was close, Magnus took his whole cock in his mouth, slathering his length in attention.

Alec could feel Magnus’ throat contract around him, and he resisted the urge to buck his hips. Pulling off, Magnus took Alec’s cock in his hand, keeping the tip on his tongue.  
He quickly jerked him off, making eye contact while he did it. Magnus’ eye makeup had smudged, and it looked like his eyes had watered a little. But his gaze held steady.

Finally having reached his limit, Alec came. He poured himself in Magnus mouth, as Magnus quickly lapped up his come. Once he was finished, Magnus gave him one last suck before letting Alec’s dick drop from his mouth.

Alec fell back onto the bed panting. He stared up at ceiling for a moment, just focusing on breathing before he glanced at Magnus.

Magnus stood at the edge of the bed, pants pulled down and cock in hand as he quickly jerked himself off. One twisting was twisting and tugging at his dick, while the other one lightly traced his balls. Alec laid there, completely spent as his own cock give a very weak interested twitch at the sight.

“Come on, Magnus. Come.” Alec groaned.

Magnus threw his head back as he came. Working himself through it as he spurted onto his abdomen. He took a step forward, towards the bed, and fell backwards himself.

The two of them stayed like that for a few minutes, each of them trying to catch their breaths before Magnus moved to get up.

He left the bed, and exited the room through a second solid black door. Alec could hear the sound of a tap turning on, followed by running water. He sat up, leaning back on his forearms as the water turned off and Magnus walked back into the room.

In his hands, he held a cloth which he used to quickly wipe himself down. Magnus looked at Alec, lying there on the bed.

“Do you need anything?”

Alec shook his head. “No, just come back here.”

Magnus smiled, then left the room again. Presumably to put the washcloth away. He returned not a minute later and joined Alec on the bed.

The two of them laid there, facing the ceiling before Magnus spoke. “So, I take it you liked that?”

Alec groaned. “Oh God, yes.”

He was silent before he spoke again. “I wasn’t too rough or anything? I didn’t shove myself down your throat or anything.”

Magnus rolled over on his side to face him. “No, Alexander, don’t worry.”

Alec turned on his side, so now the two of them faced each other. “You know,” he said. “Watching you jerk off was pretty fucking hot.”

Magnus raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really now?” He reached out to run his fingers up and down Alec’s side.

When Alec spoke again, his voice was rough. “Oh yeah.” He licked his lips, as Magnus followed the path of his tongue. 

“Fuck, come here,” Magnus groaned. He rolled over further, to hover on top of Alec and leaned down to kiss him. Alec leaned in to the kiss, his hands coming up to tangle into Magnus hair.

Alec pulled to speak. “You want to go again?”

“Fuck, yes,” Magnus said, returning to the kiss.

\- - -

When Alec woke up, the first thing he noticed was the muscle soreness. He slowly got up, rubbing the side of his head. 

“Jesus, last night.” He peered around the room, trying not to concentrate on the pounding headache, and was momentarily confused. Where the hell was he? He looked around, taking in the bedroom. Nothing here looked even remotely familiar.

Wait, last night, he thought. Bane. That’s right, you went back home with him. They’d given each other handjobs until they were both too tired to come. He glanced down, noticing the slight bite marks that littered his chest. Fuck, there’s probably marks on my neck to match. He gingerly touched the side of his neck, and slightly winched. Yup, that’s going to be hard to hide. 

Oh fuck, Jace and Izzy.

He had no idea what time it was, and undoubtedly, Jace and Izzy were waiting for an update. He needed to find his clothes and take a look around the apartment fast.

He got up from the ridiculously soft bed, and after a few moments of searching, found the majority of his clothes. All he needed were his shoes, which he vaguely remembered removing near the front door. 

Alec did a little walk through the apartment. As he walked, he noted that the paintings weren’t on any of the walls, and he has only one other room to check. He grabbed his shoes and tugged them on before heading for the last room. 

He walked through the doorway to find a home office. The room was ridiculously clean, not a single piece of paper sat on the glass desk. Alec headed towards the computer, then froze.

Where was Magnus? he thought. The whole time he hadn’t seen the other man once.

Alec wandered back through the apartment but found no sign of Magnus. A slight chill went up his spine. This wasn’t good, this wasn’t good at all. He moved to the living room and opened the balcony doors, looking for a fire escape.

He found none. Fuck, I just had to pick the guy with the place that doesn’t have a backdoor.

Seeing no other option, Alec began to head towards the front door. 

He closed the door behind him, hoping for Magnus’ sake it would lock itself, and pressed the button to call the elevator. As he waited, he looked over his shoulder, expecting Magnus, or anyone to show up at any moment - something was off.

Alec made the short trip down to the lobby alone, watching as the floor numbers slowly crawled by, anxiously tapping his foot the entire time. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. He stepped out of the elevator without really looking and bumped into someone.

“Oh, excuse me.” Alec looked up as he apologized and saw the shiny badge of the New York City Police Department.

“Mr. Alexander Lightwood?”

Alec stood still as the elevator doors slid closed behind him. The detective in front of him spoke again. “You are under arrest for an outstanding warrant for grand larceny.” She grabbed his arms before she began to read him his rights. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.”

As she handcuffed him, Alec looked up across the empty lobby, and through the glass window focusing on the sidewalk across the street. And looked right into the eyes of Magnus Bane. 

Magnus stood perfectly still, standing there across the road with his hands in his pockets. Other pedestrians on the sidewalk bumped into him, and the slight autumn breeze lifted his jacket collar, but he paid it no mind, his eyes remaining locked onto Alec’s brown ones. Magnus’ face was blank as he took in the scene.

He knew, he fucking knew, Alec thought. He was brought back to the situation at hand by the detective.

“Do you understand your rights?”

“I understand,” he said. The detective pulled the handcuffs tighter and Alec watched as Magnus turned his back and made his way down the sidewalk, losing himself in the mass of bodies.


	4. Chapter Four

_One Year and a Half Later - Auburn Correctional Facility_

It was ten minutes past one, his siblings were late. 

Alec had been standing at the chain-link fence that separated the parking lot from the correctional doors for fifteen minutes. Constantly scanning the rows of parked cars, looking for one of his siblings cars. Then he heard it. The unmistakable sound of an old car with a rusted out muffler.

He watched the beat up chevy as it turned into the parking lot, and smoothly slid into one of the last remaining spots and began to idle. If the car itself wasn’t enough of a clue, the mass of fiery red hair in the driver's seat gave away who it was.

Alec ran his tongue over his teeth before walking towards the car. He couldn’t see Clary’s eyes with the sunglasses she wore, but he knew she was watching him walk over. When he reached the passenger side, she leaned over and flicked the lock.

As soon as his ass made contact with the ripped pleather seat, the car was leaving the spot. 

Alec said nothing, grateful for the breeze that ruffled his hair.

He finally spoke. “You’re late.”

“And you weren’t supposed to be in prison.” The car was silent once more.

Alec looked out the window, watching the white dotted lines on the road flicker by. “So, why are you here?”

Without missing a beat, Clary simultaneously flicked her blinker and made her turn. “Izzy’s in France in the middle of a job, and Jace is meeting with a potential client. Not my fault you got let out in the middle of the day.”

The car was silent once more. “So, I guess you and Jace are still …” Alec trailed off, unsure of exactly what word to use to describe his brother’s unique relationship situation.

Clary shrugged. “It’s complicated.”

They didn’t speak again until they were on the highway.

This time, It was Clary who spoke first. “Magnus got you good, huh?”

Alec clenched his jaw and spoke through his teeth. “Yes.” 

“Yeah, he’s always been like that. If he gets even the slightest hint of something going wrong, he makes a move.”

“I wasn’t purposely trying to screw him over, it was just a job,” Alec said.

Clary honked her horn as she narrowly avoided being cut off. “Jesus, learn how to drive will you?” she shouted out the window. Pulling her head into the car, Clary turned to face the road. “Yeah, a job you were trying to run on him. That’s happened to him once before. Being screwed over like that? It really does something to a guy.”

Alec turned to look at her. “What are you talking about?”

She adjusted her sunglasses before continuing. “He was running some job and this guy came in on it, real last minute. Can’t remember his name, Lenny or something? But apparently, he was some stuck-up ass who tried to play Magnus, get him to take the fall. After that, he stopped working with partners, went completely underground. Mom’s worked with him a few times since, but he mainly does reconciliation, and those jobs don’t typically require forgeries you know.”

Alec’s hand stopped. “He went underground to do recoveries?”

“Yup, I guess it was a real passion of his or something, you know making them whole again-”

“Bayangan,” he whispered.

Clary side eyed him. “What’d you say?” She asked.

“The shadow. I know who he was.”  
\- - -

As soon as Clary dropped him off at home, Alec jumped in the shower. Returning home in the grimy clothes you wore during a one night stand a year ago was not comfortable by any stretch of the imagination. Once he’d toweled off and changed into more comfortable clothes, Alec went straight to the computer determined to do some serious research.

He spent an hour comparing what little was known about the Bayangan to his own suspicions about Magnus. Alec wasn’t able to find much, but what he did only helped to further convince him. After exhausting all leads, he decided to head to Pandemonium.

This time, it was a Tuesday night so the club was understandably less busy than last time. Alec looked around for a few minutes, searching for Magnus before heading to the bar to wait it out. He had no real clue why he’d come here. Even if his suspicions were correct, he doubted Magnus would confirm it.

Alec had just finished flagging down the bartender when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“You’ve had enough.” Spinning around, he found himself staring into Magnus’ angry face. The grip on his shoulder tightened. 

“Actually,” Alec said, “I haven’t had any so-”

Magnus cut him off. “What are you doing here? I didn’t expect to see you back so soon.”

Alec got to his feet, and Magnus grip fell from his shoulder at the sudden height change. “Yeah and I wasn’t expecting to go to jail that night.” Alec took a breath to calm himself. “We need to talk.”

Magnus practically snorted. “You want to talk? Did you not get the message the first time, or do I have to call your probation officer?”

Alec straightened up. “No, you asshole. I don’t need you ratting me out again.”

“And I don’t need you trying to screw me over again, but if another stint in prison is what’ll get through to you.”

Alec let out a deep breath. “Can you just shut up, and fucking listen to me!”

Magnus stared at him, anger in his eyes. “What did you just say to me?”

“I said-” Alec took a step closer. Magnus watched him, but made no move to step away. “-to shut the fuck up and listen to me.” He waited, expecting Magnus to say something, but he was surprisingly quiet. “I think we need to have a talk about the Bayangan.”

At that, Magnus tensed. He looked at all the people around them, some of them shamelessly staring and no doubt listening in. “Not here. Not out in public, follow me.”

He turned and headed out onto the dance floor, sticking close to the wall. He stopped at an arbitrary spot in the wall and took out a set of keys from his pocket. Magnus reached for a doorknob Alec hadn’t realized was there, and unlocked the seemingly hidden door.

The open door revealed a darkened hallway, The two of them walked down the dimly lit corridor in silence passing a handful of unmarked doors until they reach the end. Magnus opened yet another door and took a few steps into the darkness. Alec heard a click, and the room was bathed in a soft yellow light. Alec looked around, noticing they were in a barren office. 

After closing the door, Magnus whirled around on him.

“Don’t ever say that name again,” he practically snarled.

Alec leveled him with a look. “What, you don’t want word getting out about your secret identity?”

At that, Magnus stilled. “No, and I don’t want to discuss something like that out in public. There are people, dangerous people looking for the Bayangan. 

Alec laughed. “Oh, yes, I’m sure there’s dangerous people who want to speak to him. It would be a tragedy if word were to get out that you were the Bayangan.”

Magnus stayed silent, just staring at Alec. 

Alec continued, “It was simple really, I just had to look into a few things. You know, about a year after your last public job with Lorenzo, the Bayangan first showed up. It was a small job, just one statue was taken. A statue that hadn’t been seen in almost a century. And wouldn’t you know, but there was a family who had filed a claim against the museum, something about it being their rightful property?” Alec looked at Magnus, noting his lack of reaction.

“But you know, that could have just been a coincidence, so I looked some more. As it turns out, everywhere you go, the Bayangan hits. Peru in two thousand and five, Belgium in oh six, Paris twice in oh eight. The list goes on and on, and on each one, they’re almost all reconciliation jobs.”

Alec tilted his head, looking at Magnus. “But there are some high-end jobs. The Swedish royal family had a set of crown jewels stolen three years ago. I even heard he hit the Louvre, replaced some of the most famous paintings with forgeries.”

Magnus was still silent. Alec moved to take a seat in the armchair. “You know, I never would have found out if it wasn’t for Clary. She mentioned you going underground, which forced me to start looking. So really, this was all thanks to her.”

Magnus swore under his breath.

“I only took the job in the first place,” Alec said, “because Lorenzo told me you had screwed him over in Connecticut, said you cut in on his job, then set him up to take the fall.”

Magnus scoffed, rolling his eyes. “It was my job, I let him in last minute. We were supposed to steal the paintings, and return them back to a family in Europe. Those paintings had been missing for decades, it was just a simple recovery.”

Alec was taken aback for a moment, surprised Magnus had even spoken in the first place, let alone explain things to him. “What, so you’re just going to tell me everything? It’s all okay now?”

Seeing his look of bewilderment, Magnus shook his head. “I’m just telling you about the Connecticut case, I have nothing to say about your conspiracy theory.”

Alec rolled his eyes, annoyed at Magnus’ refusal to admit what he already knew. “Okay. So then what happened with Lorenzo, why did the cops show up there?” Alec asked.

Magnus crossed his arms. “I called them. A few days before we were supposed to move in on the house, I got a tip Lorenzo was planning to pocket the paintings and sell them off to turn a profit. So, I get a team out there to take the paintings before Lorenzo showed up. Once it was time for us to go in, Lorenzo went in the front, I went in the back and I called the police. That block was covered in neighbourhood watch signs, i just had to pretend to be a concerned member. ” 

“Lorenzo goes down, and I reunite the family with their rightful property. Then I move on, look for work elsewhere. But imagine my surprise when word gets back to me that Lorenzo’s looking to hire someone for a hit on me. And that very person he’s hired shows up here, in my club.” Magnus crossed his arms. Clearly finished speaking.

Alec started to speak. “But why would Lorenzo let it get out that he had hired me to steal from you? If you knew I was coming it would ruin the whole job. Is he really that stupid? And where did he get the money to contract my team out for the job, Jace checked and his entire apartment is filled with fakes.”

Magnus shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense for him to hire you in the first place. I had already bested him once as a newcomer, why would he risk a second blow to his ego when this attempt failed?”

He looked away, focusing on a spot on his desk. “He’s so arrogant it blinds him and makes him stupid. But, he’s not stupid enough to purposely sabotage his own job. It just doesn’t add up.” He trailed off lost in thought.

When Magnus spoke again, it’s so low it’s clear he’s speaking to himself. “Lorenzo hires you to steal from me, but somehow it gets out that I’m being set up to be robbed. Obviously I’m going to take care of the situation, and get you out of the picture for a while. So his job is ruined. It wouldn’t make sense for him to let word get out. And he had to have known you would confront me about it.”

Magnus began to pace. “But why would Lorenzo go to such lengths to set this all up? What does he gain from it? If he set it all up, then he set himself up to ruin everything.”

Alec spoke up, “No, it still doesn’t make any sense.”

But Magnus continued on, not hearing him.

“So then Lorenzo didn’t set it up? It makes no sense for him to be behind it, he didn’t have the money, and he would never risk losing again. So then who did set it up?” He paused, lost in thought. “The job, the job, what was the job.” He snaps his fingers. “The apartment. He wanted you to look around the apartment, he just wanted access to it the whole time - but the paintings aren’t there …” He trailed off.

Suddenly, his head snapped up. “Oh my God.”

“What?” Alec asked, confused.

Magnus started towards the door. “I don’t have time for this, I need to leave right now.” He glanced at Alec who hadn’t moved an inch. “Okay, you stand there and figure it out yourself while I leave” With that he quickly left the room.

Alec stood still for a moment, confused about what just happened. Before he began to hurry after Magnus. He followed him out of the club, catching up with Magnus at the curb, just as a taxi pulled up in front of him.

Magnus opened the door and slide in the back, giving his address to the driver. Alec got in beside him. He received a bewildered look in response. “I went to prison for this job, i’m seeing the whole thing through.”

The taxi made it to Magnus’ apartment in under twenty minutes. After paying the driver, Magnus practically ran to the building with Alec trailing behind him. Magnus pounded the elevator button a few times, and when it didn’t immediately appear, gives up and heads for the stairs instead.

The two of them ran up four flights of stairs to Magnus’ apartment. Alec stopped, and waited for Magnus to unlock the door before going in. The door swung open and Magnus brushed past him as he made a direct beeline for the back of the apartment.

Alec stepped through, and immediately stopped. The last time he was there, it was clear Magnus preferred a more minimalist design approach. There were a handful of pieces of furniture scattered about, but the main focus was on the vast collection of paintings and masks that decorated the walls. This time, the apartment was completely devoid of decorations. 

He walked through the almost surgically clean space, to find Magnus in the cluttered study, crouched down beside the bookcase. The corner of the area rug was folded over itself, while Magnus picked at a floorboard. He made quick work of the piece of wood, lifting it out of place, and putting it down beside him. Alec watched as Magnus reached in the hole in the floor, and brought a small black jewelry box out.

He carefully set it down beside the hole in the floor, before he began to gingerly lift the lid. When the lid snapped open, Magnus looked down and the closed his eyes in despair.

“Magnus?” Alec called out.

He said something so quietly, Alec had to ask him to repeat it.

“It’s gone. My mother’s necklace; it’s gone.” He stood up, turned towards Alec, and threw a sheet of paper onto the desk before returning to the jewellery box. 

Alec immediately moved to the desk to look at what Magnus had thrown his way. The paper was heavy in his hands, signaling it’s high quality. The deep blue cursive lettering stood out against the crisp white background. There was only one word on the page; Asmodeus.

Alec stood there in shock, then flipped the card over. Handwritten on the back were just a few words:

_-One Week-  
-8pm-  
-Formal Attire-_

Alec looked up at Magnus, confused. Magnus didn’t meet his eyes, instead he brushed past Alec on the way out of the room. “Excuse me, I need to make some calls.” 


	5. Chapter Five

_A Few Hours Later - Magnus’ Apartment_

“Yes.” Magnus paused. “Okay, ask around and see what you can find. And tell everyone to meet here tomorrow.”

Magnus got off the phone and rubbed his forehead in frustration.

“You alright,” Alec asked from his place on the couch. Magnus looked up, and started towards the kitchen.

“No, but after I have a few drinks I’ll probably feel a whole lot better.” Alec watched as he rummaged around in his cupboards for a moment, before placing a few liquor bottles on the counter. Magnus pulled a glass down from an overhead cabinet and began pouring. “You want some?” He asked Alec.

“Sure.” Magnus nodded his head in confirmation and pulled down another glass.

“What do you want,” he asked.

Alec let out a chuckle. “Just bring the whole bottle over here.

Magnus smiled. He tucked two bottles under his arm, carrying one glass in each hand. Reaching the coffee table, he placed both glass and the bottles down before taking a seat across from Alec.

The two sat in silence for a moment as Alec poured himself a glass. Finally, Magnus spoke. “I’m surprised you’re still here.”

Alec took a sip before he responded, “Things seemed like they were about to get interesting, and I needed to see it through. You know, I was very curious as a child.”

“Yes, and look where the curiosity landed you for a year.” 

Alec’s face hardened.

Magnus raised his hands in defense. “Sorry, sensitive topic.” He grabbed his glass and took a long drink before sitting back into his chair.

“So, are you going to tell me why Asmodeus stole all your things, and then left a party invitation?” Alec asked.

Magnus sighed and turned his head away, avoiding eye contact. “So, that’s why you stayed, because he’s involved.”

Alec sat up straighter. “Well, I have to admit. The mention of his name definitely sparked my interest. He’s famous for a reason. The Rijksmuseum, The Met, not to mention he hit seven exhibits at the Smithsonian in one night. ”

Magnus nodded his head. “Alright.” 

“But,” Alec continued, “I also stayed because of you.” At that, Magnus looked at him. “You’re the first person to play me.”

“Ah, so you’re here to try to fix your bruised ego.” Magnus sipped his wine, finishing the glass off. Reaching forward, he grabbed the bottle and poured himself another glass, this time to the very top.

Alec said nothing, instead watching as Magnus carefully lifted the glass to his lips, and once again, drank half of it in one go. 

Finally, Magnus said, “He’s my father.” 

Alec was still.

Magnus looked at him, a sad expression on his face. “I moved here with my mother from Indonesia when I was five. We saved every penny and struggled just to survive. But we were together, and that was all that mattered to me. A few years went by, and she caught pneumonia. We couldn’t afford the hospital stay.”

He cleared his throat. “She passed away a few days later.”

Alec took a sharp breath. “I’m sorry.”

Magnus polished off the rest of his drink, refilled it, and continued on. “I got placed in foster care, and I lost everything of hers. Except for her necklace. Throughout all of the homes, I carried it with me. I would find places to hide it during the day. At night, I would put it under my pillow and sleep with one hand holding it.

“I didn’t even know who my father was until I was twelve. I got busted for trying to shoplift a pack of pencils for school. I thought that was the end of it for me, no family wants to foster a kid with a criminal record.” He trailed off. “But then this man showed up, said his name was Asmodeus, that he was my father, and he was there to bail me out. He told me he had been looking for me for all these years, and now that he’d found me, we could be a family together.”

Magnus let out a pitiful laugh. “God I was so naive. But I went with him anyway, I was desperate to find a real home, to finally belong somewhere. He took me under his wing, and he taught me everything I know. He gave me little tasks until I was old enough to work with him; I would pickpocket people on the train, or sell candy bars to raise money for my underfunded school. Once I was an adult, he decided it was time we worked together.” Magnus let out a little sigh. “It was the best thing to have happened to me. Here I was, with this member of my family I never even knew I was missing, and he accepted me completely, brought me into his world. And the best thing? I was good at it, I enjoyed stealing from people.”

Alec nodded, he knew the exact feeling. But stayed silent, letting Magnus continue.

“Time goes by, I got older and he trusted me to run jobs on my own. Any jobs he’s too busy to take himself, he gave to me, and he got to keep a quarter of the profits of course. I meet some new people, formed my own team, and I brought them on heists with me. Eventually, this job in Connecticut comes up, and he let me run it myself. No interference at all.”

Magnus turned to look at Alec. “It was amazing, I was so completely happy. My father had finally trusted me to go out there on my own. And the job? This poor family in Europe just wanted their paintings back. They were stolen during the war, and were desperate to get them back in the family. Apparently, they were the pride and joy of their great grandfather. But then my team came to me, told me they had been hearing rumours in the local bars. Rumours of some guy Lorenzo running around saying he was in control of the job. He was saying he was going to steal the paintings, and pocket them to turn his own profit.”

“So I stole them before he could. My team and I broke into that house hours before Lorenzo even arrived, we had to get those paintings back to that family. But after knowing my father had played me like that? I couldn’t work with him again, so I left. I went out to work jobs on my own, with my own team.”

Neither of them said anything, and the words seemed to hang in the air between them. 

Alec spoke. “I’m sorry.”

Magnus shrugged it off. “That’s in the past now. I don’t like to go around advertising that my own father conned me. I don’t really tell anyone it was Asmodeus who did it, I don’t want that kind of connection to my name. Plus, who’s going to be sympathetic when they hear that’s who pulled one over on me?”

Alec finished off his drink, but made no move to refill it. “You know, part of the reason I stayed tonight was you, it’s more than my ego. It shocked me that you so perfectly conned me. But there’s something about you, some quality that makes me want to figure you out,” he said, staring directly into Magnus’ eyes. “You’re elusive, and there’s something electric about it. I can’t help but be drawn in.”

Both men were silent. Tension began to fill the room as the silence grew. 

Finally, Alec stood and headed towards the door.

“Tomorrow at noon,” Magnus called out to him. Alec stopped just before opening the door. “Be here and bring your siblings with you.”

Alec turned to look at him. “Goodnight, Magnus.” 

Magnus said nothing in response. 

With that, Alec left.


	6. Chapter Six

_The Next Day - Magnus’ Loft_

Alec arrived at Magnus’ door, with his siblings just a few steps behind him, at exactly twelve o’clock. He firmly knocked twice, and stepped back to wait for the door to open. Through the closed door, Alec could just make out the sound of footsteps growing closer.

The door swung open, and a woman with her hair twisted and piled on top of her head stood in the doorway. Alec blinked, expecting Magnus.

The woman looked at the three of them. “You’re the Lightwoods?”

“Yes, and you are?” Alec asked.

She didn’t extend her hand in greeting, instead giving them all a nod. “I’m Catarina. Which one of you is Alec?”

Alec could feel his siblings eyes on his back. “I am.” 

Catarina let out a little sound of acknowledgment and looked him up and down. She scrutinized Alec, but made no effort to explain her question. “Alright, come inside.”

She stepped back, opened the door wider, and gestured for them to walk through. Alec walked to the living room, following the sound of muffled voices. There, he found Magnus and two other men in the middle of a conversation. They all stopped and looked up when the Lightwoods entered the room.

Magnus stood to greet them. “Alexander.” His eyes shifted to Alec’s siblings behind him. “Jace, Isabelle. Please come in, take a seat.” He gestured to the couch opposite him. 

Izzy sat down but Alec and Jace remained standing. 

Jace lifted his chin in Magnus’ direction. “Who are they?” he asked.

The man with the serious look on his face spoke first. “I’m Raphael.” He nodded towards the other man. “This is Ragnor.”

Ragnor greeted them with a quiet hello. Everyone was silent for a brief moment before Catarina entered the room.

Magnus clasped his hands together. “Now, we can get started.” He pointed in the Lightwoods direction. “I assume you know the basics of why we’re here?”

They nodded in response. Alec had filled them in on the situation beforehand.

Magnus continued on, “I asked Raphael to ask around, and it turns out Asmodeus is hosting a housewarming party, hence the invitation.”

Catarina snorted. “He didn’t even move to a new house, he just changed the interior. What an asshole.”

Magnus gave her a look. “His ridiculous ego aside, he’s clearly expecting me to show up with my team. He might not be expecting the Lightwoods, but we have to be on guard just in case.”

“Whoa, whoa. Hang on,” Jace interjected. “I agreed to this because Alec is my brother. I didn’t agree to basically walk into Asmodeus’ trap and go down for you. He’s expecting you to try to pull one over on him, why would you fall for that and actually try to pull a job? Are you insane?”

Ragnor answered for the group. “It’s simple risk versus reward. Yes, Asmodeus is expecting us to strike, after he literally invited us to. If we do get caught, it would not only be extremely embarrassing, but Asmodeus would most certainly ensure we all served at least a decade each.”

“Wow, this is getting more and more appealing by the second,” Jace mumbled.

Ragnor continued on, unfazed. “But, he’s not expecting the Lightwoods to be involved, who would help someone who got them caught? Asmodeus loves to indulge, which means this little party is actually going to be an all night affair. With so much going on, we’ll be able to count on several distractions. Or, if all else fails, with that many people around we can just make one ourselves.”

Jace looked at Ragnor, unimpressed. “Still not seeing the draw.” Isabelle glared at him.

Magnus rolled his eyes. “For fucks sake. This is Asmodeus we’re talking about. Do you know how many valuable pieces are inside that home? Take one with you on your way out, it’ll make up for the inconvenience.”

Alec took a step forward. “Now that we’ve got everyone’s reason for being here out on the table, can we please refocus back on the actual job? The party’s in a week, and we have to prepare.”

“Yes, thank you, Alexander.” Magnus grabbed a couple of sheets of rolled up paper from a nearby table. He brought them to the coffee table, moving a few magazines out of the way, and unrolled them.

“Now, this is the floor plan of his estate.” He pointed at a small room off of the kitchen. “This room is the security room. There is no actual security guard, but Asmodeus is extremely paranoid and has cameras placed in every room.

“Everything is on a closed circuit, so if we want to tamper with it in any way we have to physically do it from inside the house.” 

Moving to the other side of the map, Magnus gestured at a large group of rooms. “These are the assorted sitting, recreational and living rooms. The party will most likely overflow to here.”

Magnus reached for another piece of paper and placed it on top of the floor plan. “This is the second floor. It’s significantly smaller than the main floor, so any sound you make here will carry throughout.” He rested his hand on a large room on the right side of the paper. “This is Asmodeus’ bedroom. Without a doubt, he’ll have a handful of valuable pieces in here. There’s also a very strong chance this is where he’s keeping my mothers necklace.

“Now, as for my personal belongings.” Magnus tapped a small room opposite the bedroom. “His study is where he’ll be keeping all of my things.” He pulled back and studied the group. “All of the pieces we need are upstairs, and seeing as how the stairs are extremely close to where the main party is going to be taking place, it’s going to be challenging to get up there without drawing any unnecessary attention.”

Izzy spoke up. “Alright, so if we make it past the party, and up the stairs-”

“Which we will,” Alec interjected.

“Then we have to ransack his bedroom, turn over his office and somehow get all of Magnus’ pieces down the stairs, past all the party guests.”

Magnus nodded. “Exactly. But, you also have to find my mother’s necklace among all the ransacking. It won’t just be sitting out in the open.”

Izzy gave him a sarcastic smile. “Of course. Sorry, how many people are expected to be there again?”

“I’ve asked around and it looks like quite a few people got an invitation, although in a less unconventional manner of course,” Raphael said. “In total, we’re looking at around one hundred and seventy people, give or take a few of course.”

Jace nodded. “Yes of course,” he said sarcastically.

Alec closed his eyes, breathing in deeply and gritting his teeth. “Okay.” He pointed at Raphael, Catarina, and Ragnor. “Because he’ll obviously be expecting you three to show up with Magnus, you have to stay on the first floor. Raphael, you’re in charge of the security room. Get in, tamper with the cameras and then get out. If anything starts to go wrong, leave immediately. We can’t risk you staying in there for too long.”

He pointed to Ragnor and Catarina. “You two have to lay low. Mingle with the other guests, and try to keep a low profile. If you notice anything off, tell us. If someone looks at one of you for even a second too long, let us know. You’re all of our eyes and ears.”

Magnus took over from Alec. “Isabelle and Jace, you two are dealing with the second floor. Jace, you’re taking the office. Asmodeus has at least one safe in the wall beside the desk. The desk itself is modeled after the one in the White House; full of hidden drawers and levers to pull. Check every inch of it, I’m almost positive it’s full of extremely valuable pieces.”

He nodded at Izzy. “Which means, you have the bedroom. The walls are almost entirely covered with paintings, and he’s packed the room full of sculptures so you’ll have a lot of heavy lifting to do.”

Alec looked around the room, making eye contact with everyone as he spoke. “I know this is a lot, and trying to pull this off is a death wish but-”

Alec was cut off by Magnus. “Oh no, we’re not done.”

Alec looked, at him confused, “I’m sorry?”

Magnus gave him a small smile. “You’re in charge of Asmodeus. He’s going to be spending all his time looking for us, and you have to make sure he’s too busy to even look, and too flustered to find us.”

“No, no, I am not dealing with him.” Alec shook his head. “I don’t do the physical legwork, Jace and Izzy know this. I wasn’t even supposed to come into contact with you; I’m the one who makes sure everyone is doing their job.”

Raphael rolled his eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re saying you’re going to do nothing?”

“Hey,” Izzy snapped. “Watch it.”

“Excuse me?” Raphael snapped back. “I’m not okay with your brother giving orders, and not wanting to do anything himself.”

“Raphael.” Magnus called, his tone sharp. “Enough.”

Raphael’s mouth slammed shut and Magnus turned back towards Alec. “Both of us have to keep tabs on Asmodeus, but I can only be around him for so long. There’s a lot of long standing animosity between the two of us, so I can’t exactly spend the night by his side. You on the other hand, you can hang around in his general vicinity, and actually speak to him as a distraction if need be.”

Alec crossed his arms. “Fine. I don’t like it, but fine. It makes the most sense.”

Magnus clapped his hands together. “Excellent. Alec and I will try to iron out a few more details. We’ll meet back here in two days time to go over the plan one last time. Sound good?”

He got a few mumbled yeses and nods in response.

Taking that as the okay to leave, Raphael quickly got up and headed for the front door, followed closely behind by Ragnor. Magnus left for the kitchen, with Catarina on his heels.

Leaning forward, Alec grabbed an empty glass from the table and poured himself a drink, thankful they had gone untouched. Things were tense enough without any alcohol being involved. Jace waited until he’d finished before clapping him on the back in a hug, and leaving.

Izzy approached him next, pulling him in for a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “It’ll be fine Alec. You worry too much.” She squeezed him tight for a moment, before letting go. 

She collected her bag and coat and started to leave, but turned back after taking a few steps. “Just talk to him.”

Alec stared at her for a moment. “Bye, Iz.” She let out a breath of air, then left. 

The apartment was quiet, only the slight sound of lowered voices coming from the kitchen. They stopped and Alec heard the front door open and shut before silence fell.

Taking a seat on the couch, Alec leaned back, closing his eyes. He heard footsteps growing closer and the slight rustle of fabric as Magnus took a seat. 

“So, here we are again,” Magnus said. 

Alec was silent. 

Magnus tried again, “Do you want a drink?”

Alec could hear the clink as Magnus picked up a glass and the loud sound of a cork popping. “No, I have to get back and figure this whole thing out.”

This time, Magnus was the silent one. There was another clink of glass as Magnus put the bottle back. 

Alec sat there, focusing on the sound of Magnus’ breathing. “I don’t go out in the field much.” He paused. “I like to stay in the background, oversee everything. I almost never come into contact with the marks.”

Magnus said nothing. The sound of his deep, steady breathing continued. Something about it comforted Alec. Sitting there with his eyes closed, surrounded by the quiet, he felt almost safe; as if he’d been removed from his own body.

He kept his eyes closed as he spoke again. “When I first started, I would practically beg my parents to let me out into the field. I loved it. The anxiety, the uncertainty of not knowing if you would get caught, the little bundle of nerves that always sat in my chest. And that rush-” Alec let out a breathy chuckle. “God, it was such a high. It used to make me feel invincible, like I could do anything I wanted, could accomplish anything.”

“When I was fifteen, my parents sent me on a job on my own. I had to get into the house of this couple who were friends of a friend of my parents. They’d done something stupid, like insulted someone’s cooking at book club. So the only natural course of action was to steal one of their little statues.

“I got to the house and was let inside. I asked the woman for a glass of water, and when she went to fetch it I got ready to take the ugly little duck statue. But then the front door opened.” Alec opened his eyes to look at the ceiling.

“This boy walked in, he was probably seventeen. He had long dark hair he had to constantly move out from in front of his eyes. But, my God he was so attractive. I got distracted and I got caught. The couple didn’t want to press any charges, but it was extremely embarrassing for my parents.” 

Alec found a small crack in the ceiling and traced it with his eyes. “When I got home, of course my parents demanded to know what happened. And I told them. I was such an idiot.” He closed his eyes again. “My parents didn’t take it well. They told me that I was wrong, those feelings were wrong. I had ruined a job because of a stupid crush on a boy. I had embarrassed the family and I had embarrassed myself with my behaviour. My father yelled at me for hours that night. Both him and my mother didn’t speak to me for an entire week.

“Of course, my siblings found out, and they told me they still loved me. Eventually, my mom grew to accept me, but my father never hesitated to bring his feelings on the subject up.”

Alec opened his eyes, and lowered his head to look at Magnus. “That ruined the whole experience for me. That nervous ball of excited energy I used to feel, now it’s just a pit of fear in my stomach. I can’t let go and focus on the job anymore. So I just stopped. I decided i’d run things from behind the scenes and let Izzy and Jace take care of the physical stuff. It works well, they’re both charming enough.”

Magnus let out a little snort at the mention of Jace being charming. “He can be a little prickly sometimes, but he genuinely means well.”

Alec looked over Magnus’ shoulder, focusing on an invisible spot on the wall. Finally, Magnus spoke. “Thank you. For telling me that. You didn’t have to.”

“You shared with me the other day, I figure it’s only right to return the gesture.” 

Magnus nodded in acceptance.

Alec sighed and stood up. “Alright, I need to leave and attempt to figure this out. God, this is going to require one Mary Poppins and at least two Sawyers, and we only have a team of seven.” 

“You can stay and we can try to work something out together.” Magnus’ voice had taken on a questioning tone.

Alec stopped and looked at him. Magnus looked back at him calmly, no hint of an expectation. He was genuinely asking him just to stay and plan things out.

Alec sat back down. “Alright, I’ll stay.” A small smile began to form on Magnus’ face. “But, if we’re going to plan this shit show, we’re going to need something to drink.”

Magnus was full on smiling now. “Of course, let me just grab the whiskey; we’re going to need something strong for this.”

\---

Alec sat on a couch in the living room, tucked up in the corner, completely out of the way of everything. He went practically unnoticed, watching what was happening.

He had apparently fallen asleep on Magnus’ couch the night before, and had woken up to loud pounding on the front door. Magnus appeared from his bedroom, dishevelled, chest bare and spared a glance in Alec’s direction, before he opened the door.

From his spot on the couch, Alec could just make out the side of Catarina’s face. She wasn’t speaking loud enough for him to be able to hear the whole conversation, but he caught a part of it.

“No, I got it in the mail this morning,” she was saying.

“Okay, but that doesn’t-” 

“Magnus, don’t be stupid, he knows there’s someone else with us.”

Realizing he was not going to be able to get to sleep again, Alec began feeling around for his phone. Finding it stuffed in between two couch cushions, he fished it out and quickly texted Izzy and Jace.

_Stayed at Magnus’. Something’s going down. Get here._

He received an immediate response from Izzy.

_What the fuck? We’ll be there in ten._

Looking up from his phone, Alec noticed Catarina in the kitchen opening cupboards, and heard the telltale sounds of a coffee machine stirring to life. Magnus sat down beside him, and Alec ran a hand through his own hair, a little self-conscious of how he must look. 

“Alexander, good morning. Sorry about that, Catarina found something in her mail.” He grimaced as he said it.

“I figured it wasn’t anything good from the pounding. I texted my siblings, they said they’ll be here soon.”

Catarina walked in, holding three mugs in one hand and the glass carafe in the other. Seeing her predicament, Magnus took the mugs from her. He set them down on the coffee table, directly on top of the floor plans for Asmodeus’ house. 

She poured them each coffee, then returned to the kitchen with the caraf. Catarina came back and immediately took a large sip from her mug.

Catarina looked at Alec, zeroing in on the dark circles under his eyes. “You look like shit.”

Alec had to hold back a yawn as he spoke. “Wow thanks. You look great yourself.”

Magnus sat, watching them over the rim of his mug. Catarina spied his smiling expression out of the corner of her eye, and turned to face him. “What are you so happy about? Did you blow him again last night or something?”

Alec almost choked on his sip of coffee. “Excuse me?” He asked.

Catarina rolled her eyes. “Oh please, we all know you two hooked up before you went away. But, no one wanted to say anything last night”

“You told them!” Alec asked Magnus. 

Magnus shrugged. “I told them I had gotten rid of you, they asked and I told them the truth.”

Alec looked up at the ceiling. “Oh my God.”

“Alec,” Catarina said. “Calm down, it’s no big deal.”

“Okay stop. We are not talking about this anymore. My siblings will be here soon and I don’t want to be discussing my sex life when they walk in.” Alec pointed a hand at Catarina. “Why are you here alone, where is everyone else?” He asked.

She took a sip of her coffee before answering. “They’re on their way. I just got here faster.”

“Lovely,” He said. There was a knock at the door, and Alec practically jumped up to get it. He opened it to reveal both his siblings, Ragnor, Raphael, and one other man. They each muttered a hello and walked to the living room.

Alec followed a few steps behind them, and was glad to see his seat wasn’t taken when he was out of the room. He slid back beside Magnus, but left his mug on the table.

Raphael was the first to speak. “We were in the middle of brunch when you texted, this better be quick, Simon and I want to get back.”

“Simon?” Alec asked.

“Yeah, this is my boyfriend Simon.” Raphael gestured to the pale man who had come in with them.

“Simon, this is Alec, Izzy, and -”

Simon cut Raphael off before he could introduce the last person.

“Jace?” He asked.

Jace closed his eyes. “Oh my God.”

Raphael looked confused. “You know him?”

“Yeah,” Simon nodded. “I know him through Clary. Remember Raphael, that’s the guy Clary had a thing with.”

Raphael nods at that. Simon lean in closer to Raphael’s side.

“That’s also the guy that hit on me.” He loudly whispered to Raphael.

“Simon, I told you. I didn’t hit on you!” Jace practically yells. Izzy gives him a side look.

Raphael puts an arm around Simon’s waist as he speaks. “He’s got a boyfriend, you dick.”

Jace groans. “All I said was he looked good that day.”

“Yeah, and you were looking at my crotch when you said it! How is that not coming onto me!” Simon asks.

Alec rolled his eyes. Just as Magnus began speaking. “Okay, we didn’t come here to discuss Jace’s confusing sexuality.”

“Jesus Christ,” Jace mutters under his breath.

Magnus points at Catarina. “You want tell everyone else what you got today?”

She reached into her pocket, and pulled out a small white card. Similar to one used to write messages with bouquets of flowers.

“I found this in my mailbox today.” She put the card on the table, reciting the words.

_“They say three’s a crowd. But I think two’s more than enough.”_

Izzy examined it. “Okay, so either there’s a creep in your neighbourhood who doesn’t know the actual quote or-”

Ragnor shook his head. “It’s Asmodeus. He loves to do this. Instead of speaking directly to you, he sends a cryptic message. It’s written in the same colour hue as the party invitation.”

“Fuck.” 

Catarina chuckled dryly at Izzy’s response before she spoke. “Yeah. That was my exact reaction too.”

Alec chimed in. “Hold on. Okay so Asmodeus knows that you guys are working with someone. But he doesn’t know who you’ve partnered with.” 

He looked at Catarina as he spoke. “It’s cryptic, but it makes no mention of the partner. You’re also the only one who got a card. It could just be a warning.”

“It makes sense,” Raphael said.

Magnus rubbed at the side of his jaw. “That’s true, if he knew it was the Lightwoods he would have dropped a hint about them. But still, I don’t like this. It means he’s suspicious of us. No doubt, they’re will be extra scrutiny at the party.”

“Well,” Raphael said, “then we’re just going to have to be that much more careful. Which means, we probably shouldn’t meet again.” Magnus looked at Raphael, a look of concentration on his face.

He turned towards Jace and Izzy. “It’s not unusual for my team to come here. But what about you two, do you know if anyone followed you here?”

The two of them shook their heads. “No,” Izzy said. “I’m positive no one followed us.”

“Good.” Magnus stood up. “Excuse me, I have to go check something.”

Alec watched as Magnus walked away, heading towards the study. Everyone had begun to talk amongst themselves, but Alec sat silently looking in the direction Magnus had left.

He was broken out of his revere by a loud laugh from Simon. Instinctively, he turned to look at Simon and stopped.

“Yeah, we’ll have to be careful,” Alec muttered to himself.

\---

Alec ran his hand down his face in exhaustion. He and Magnus had sent everyone else home hours earlier. With the threat Catarina received, they had to go over the plan with a fine-toothed comb and tweak a few details.

Alec groaned, getting up from his seat. His back almost screaming in pain at being hunched over for so long. Figuring he should let Magnus know he was going to head out, he began to search for him.

Alec found Magnus in the study, standing over the desk, papers in hand. He put down the papers and let out a frustrated groan. 

Taking that as his cue, Alec entered the room, coming up behind Magnus. He stopped just a few feet away. “I think I’m about ready to head out, probably time to go to bed.”

Magnus looked up, eyes unfocused. “Okay, goodnight.”

Alec didn’t move. “I’m going to bed, and I think you should, too.” Magnus waved his hand at him in a shooing motion, but Alec didn’t move.

“We’ve planned as much as we can. The party’s in a few days. We both need sleep.”

Magnus turned to look at him. “I don’t have time to go to bed, I still have calls to make. Nothing is concrete, I still have no idea exactly how we’re supposed to get everything out of the house.”

Alec stood there as he watched as Magnus moved around the room. Magnus had run his hands through his hair so many times it’s now a wild mess. He had a sort of crazed look in his eyes, but something about him still called to Alec.

During his next walk through of the room, Magnus gots close enough to Alec for him to reach out and stop him. Magnus stopped in his tracks, and looked at Alec expectantly.

“Yes?”

“You need to stop, you aren’t going to get anything done like this.” Alec looked at him intensely. 

Magnus ran his hands through his hair again. “I told you, there’s too much to do. I can’t sleep-”

Alec stepped closer to him and rested both hands on Magnus’ biceps. “Magnus, look at me.”

He stopped and looked down at Alec’s chest. As Magnus raised his head, he stopped for a second to linger on Alec’s lips. 

When the two of them finally made eye contact, the air between them was electric.

Their lips gently touched as their bodies got impossibly closer. Alec’s hands found Magnus’ waist, where they gripped the fabric of his shirt. Magnus pulled back to catch his breath, then moved his hand to rest under Alec’s chin, his finger gently skimming Alec’s bottom lip.

“I should probably go to bed now,” Magnus whispered.

Alec nodded. “Yeah we probably should.” He smiled again, and then pulled back completely, out of Magnus’ reach.

“Goodnight, Magnus.” Alec turned and headed towards the door.

Magnus watched him leave, tongue tracing his lips. “Goodnight, Alec.”


	7. Chapter Seven

_Days Later - Asmodeus' Estate_

Alec drove up to Asmodeus’ house and quickly slid into an open parking spot. He examined the grounds through the car window, letting out a whistle. The place was huge, it resembled a European manner more than a simple house in New York.

He put his car into park, then reached into the cup holder for the small case that rested there. Alec flicked open the case, and removed the wireless earpiece stored within. He put the piece in, and was immediately greeted with the sounds from within the party.

Alec could hear the clinking of glasses and the sound of laughter. “Alright,” he said, “I’m here.”

Catarina immediately responded, “Good. Now we’re all here.”

Alec opened his car door and strode towards the gates of the house. He passed numerous guests on his way there, each one more extravagantly dressed than the one before.

Spotting a lone older woman, Alec strode up towards her and began to make small talk. The two continued talking until they reached the front door. Alec waited as the woman fished around in her clutch for a moment before showing the man at the door her invitation.

As soon as Alec made it inside the house, he separated from the woman.

He stood in the middle of the front entryway, taken aback by the grander of it all. Each painting that decorated the walls was encased in what appeared to be a solid gold frame. Waiters made their way through the slight crowd, each of them holding a tray of champagne flutes.

Deciding to move somewhere less populated where Alec could speak freely, he began to head towards the back sitting room.

As he walked through the hallway, he caught a glimpse of the main living room. Alec saw a flash of blue out of the corner of his eye and turned to see Magnus in the center of a crowd in the middle of a dramatic story.

Pushing forward, Alec made it to his destination. The room was dimly lit and the air was slightly smokey. Alec tracked the source of the smoke and spotted an older gentleman in the corner, taking puffs of his cigar.

Perfect, Alec thought.

He walked towards the window closest to the man. Alec made brief eye contact with Ragnor as he sat on the couch with another guest.

Making it to the window, he interrupted the group of women standing in front of it.

“Excuse me,” he said, “would you mind if I opened the window in here? I find it a little hard to breath with smoke in the air.”

One of the women gasped. “Oh no, of course we don’t mind! I don’t understand why someone would smoke in here at all.” She shot a glare towards the old man as she said it.

Alec smiled gratefully and quickly hoisted the window up a couple of inches. He moved away, just out of hearing range of the group of women and said quietly, “I opened one window in the first sitting room.” Alec turned his head to see the other window. It, too, was open.

“Looks like Ragnor got the other one open. This room is all set.” 

Alec could hear polite laughter through his earpiece. Jace answered him, “No sign of Asmodeus yet. But some people are suggesting he’ll make an appearance in about fifteen.”

The sound of Magnus excusing himself could be heard before his voice came over the line. “He’ll wait until there’s a decent sized crowd here. Asmodeus loved to make a grand entrance. Raphael, when he arrives, slip into the security room.”

When Raphael spoke, the background noises that surrounded him were quieter. “Okay.”

Alec stayed in the room with Ragnor for a moment longer before he left. This time, he walked to the dining room just next door. The room was open-planned and held a bar but also had direct patio access.

He reached the bar and was immediately offered a champagne flute, which he declined. Instead, Alec ordered a glass of whiskey.

As he waited for his drink to be made, he looked around the room. There was a young couple in the corner who seemed preoccupied with one another and a group of older women sitting at a small table.

The bartender placed Alec’s drink down on the bar tabletop. Alec nodded in thanks, then took the drink and moved towards one of the three sets of double doors on the back wall. He opened the middle set of doors with one hand and stepped out onto the balcony.

The cool evening breeze greeted him, caressing his face. Alec inhaled deeply as he relished the silence outside. He looked out into the backyard, taking in the beautiful landscaped land.

Jace’s voice once again came over the ear piece. “The crowd out here is getting rowdy. Asmodeus should be here any minute. Is everyone ready?”

Alec took a swing of his glass before he answered, “I’m headed that way now.”

He took one last deep breath before he headed back inside. Alec left his empty glass on the bar tabletop, and began to quickly make his way inside to the heart of the house.

Each room he passed by, Alec happened a glance inside. In every room, at least one window was open. He smiled to himself when he saw that.

Alec was still smiling when he stepped back into the grand entryway. He was in the middle of finding a spot near the wall to stand when he heard his name being called.

“Alexander!” 

Alec stopped, he recognized the voice.

He turned around to be greeted by the sight of an elderly woman, bent over a cane. “Ah, Mrs. Greenwood.” Alec smiled at her and she hobbled closer to him.

She smiled at him, showing off her bright white dentures. “I didn’t know you would be here. I had no idea your family knew Asmodeus.”

Alec’s smile tightened. “Oh you know how it is,” he said. “Everybody knows everybody in this industry.”

Mrs. Greenwood gave a hearty chuckle, and rested one hand on top of the other on her cane. The noise in the room suddenly increased and Alec looked out above her head to find the cause.

Asmodeus had begun to make his way down the stairs, to much fanfare. He stood at the top of the stairs, arm raised, relishing the applause he received. The sound of the applause multiplied through Alec’s earpiece. He reached up to touch the side of his head as he felt a slight pain begin to form.

A voice came through; this time it was Catarina who spoke. “Alright, Raphael. That’s your cue.”

Raphael didn’t answer immediately. The noise in the room had grown considerably louder as Asmodeus got closer to the bottom step. Alec heard a small squeak, and then the noise in his earpiece dropped a little. 

Raphael spoke. “I’m inside, we’re good here.” The sound of keys clacking was heard, before a small noise of excitement. “Perfect, I’ve got control of everything now. You guys are free out there.”

Alec heard someone let out a quiet, “Thank God,” over the line.

Asmodeus began to greet his guests. “Hello everyone. Thank you for being here tonight.” The crowd gave him a round of applause.

He smiled as the applause died down. “I’m so happy so many of you could make it. Now I don’t want to give a big speech.” Members of the audience cried out at that.

Asmodeus’ smile grew wider. “I hope you all enjoy the new changes made to the house. There’s plenty of champagne going around. Everyone, please enjoy yourselves tonight.”

He had finished on a triumphant note, and the crowd burst into another round of applause. Asmodeus stepped off the bottom step and was immediately swarmed by his guests. The group of people practically pushed one another aside to be closer to the man.

Despite it all, Asmodeus remained unbothered. Alec had to give him credit. He shook everyone’s hand, and greeted them all with a smile.

Alec turned his attention away from Asmodeus; instead he looked out toward the crowd to find his brother. Mrs. Greenwood had left Alec’s side when Asmodeus made an appearance, so Alec didn’t have to worry about ignoring the woman.

He scanned the crowd and found Jace standing not too far away. He stood, leaning up against the wall of the staircase talking to a woman. From where Alec stood, it looked like Jace was trying to hit on her, and was being shot down.

“Jace,” Alec said. “You’re going to have to go upstairs alone. She isn’t buying it, and it’s easier this way. Now you don’t have to shake her off somehow.”

Alec finished speaking, and the couple quickly split up. The woman drifted off into the crowd, and Jace climbed the stairs.

While his brother went upstairs, Alec glanced around the room. He noticed several men in suits, some mingling within the crowd and others standing up against the wall. They all watched Jace as he made it to the top of the stairs and turned left towards the upstairs washroom.

Alec swore under his breath. “A group of security just watched Jace go upstairs. Jace, you’re going to have to hold off on getting to Asmodeus study right now.”

“Got it,” Jace said.

Alec continued, “Izzy, you’re not going to be able to get up the stairs without security intervening-”

He stopped as he saw a security guard glance up in the direction of Jace, then at Asmodeus. The guard pushed off the wall and started towards Asmodeus.

“Fuck, security is about to let Asmodeus know Jace is upstairs.”

Magnus’ voice was heard on the line. “I’ll handle the security guy. Alec, give me a hand.”

Alec watched as Magnus left his group, and started towards the man in the suit. Alec hurried to catch up, and both he and Magnus made it to the man just as he was reaching out for Asmodeus.

“Security, there you are!” Magnus exclaimed. The man looked puzzled and moved to shrug Magnus off, but he refused to be brushed aside. 

“There’s a problem in the next room, one of the guests has had just a touch too much to drink and he’s started taking off his clothes.”

The security man looked alarmed, and began to cut through the crowd. Alec took a deep breath then froze when he felt the presence of someone behind him.

“Hello, and who might you be?” the voice asked.

Alec turned around to find himself face to face with Asmodeus. He quickly smiled, and extended his hand to meet Asmodeus’ outstretched one. The two men shook hands and introduced themselves.

“Hello, I’m Edward. What a beautiful home you have here,” Alec remarked.

Asmodeus smiled, retracting his hand. He ran his fingers through his long dark hair as he answered, “Yes, my design team has done a stunning job.” He leaned in closer, as if telling Alec a secret. “You know, for a while there I wasn’t sure they were going to be able to make it.”

Alec just smiled even wider. “Well, they’ve done an excellent job. I’m glad I could be here to see the finished product.” Asmodeus looked down, noticing Alec’s other empty hand.

“You don’t have a drink?” Asmodeus tisked. “That’s a shame, the champagne tonight is just exquisite.”

Alec decided to leverage the other man's comment, turning it into an excuse to leave. “I was hoping to grab myself a glass before the night was over. If you’ll excuse me. I think I’ll do just that.”

Asmodeus smiled as Alec turned and left. He let out a sigh of relief once some distance had been put between the two of them.

“Jesus Christ. Magnus, did you manage to lose the security guy.”

Alec waited a moment before he received a response. “Yup. When we got there Ragnor was just about to go for the button on his pants. He was escorted out.”

Alec resisted the urge to grin at the image of the prim and proper Ragnor stripping in public. “Perfect. Ragnor, have you and Catarina found each other yet.”

Catarina’s voice came over the line. “We’re here and waiting for Jace to start lowering the bags down. Once he’s made it down himself, Ragnor and I will go around to the other side and wait for Izzy to start lowering bags down.”

Alec nodded his head. “Jace, are you almost ready?”

The sound of a zipper was heard, followed by a grunt. “Yup. Just about to start lowering them down. Magnus, I checked everywhere, but I’m sorry. I couldn’t find the necklace.”

Magnus was silent for a moment before he spoke. “Hopefully you’ll find it in his bedroom.”

Alec was in the middle of a second lap around the room when Jace spoke up. “Fuck, there’s no way I can send all these pieces down.” 

Alec left the room, turning down the hall towards the secondary living room when Magnus spoke up. “Whatever you can’t send down the rope, leave it. We’ll get it later. Raphael, get ready to call in Izzy.”

In this room, Alec found a water with a tray of food. After taking a few items, Alec took a seat on the couch. Ragnor had opened enough windows when he was here to make it easy for Izzy later on, and Jace had managed to get through Asmodeus’ study fairly quickly. The plan seemed to be working overall.

Alec had just bitten in to his second bacon and chili fig when he heard yelling on Jace’s end.

He froze, mid bite and listened to what sounded like the beginning of a struggle. “Jace, are you okay? What’s happening?”

Alec was answered with a series of grunts. Finally, Jace spoke. “Fuck, I-”

Jace’s earpiece cut out. “Security taking …. Asmodeus know …. Call Izzy ….”

There was a click before Jace went quiet. Alec was frozen, unsure of exactly what had happened before he heard the blaring alarm.

The fire alarm went off, its piercing shrikes echoing through the house. Alec watched as people ran out of the room, fearing for their lives. He waited until the room had cleared out before he calmly walked towards the open window.

Alec bent down over the window edge, thankful Asmodeus hadn’t installed screens over his window. He reached into the flowerbed below and felt around for a moment before his hands made contact with fabric.

Alec leaned back, bringing the canvas duffle bag with him into the house. The alarm blared around him, but he paid it no mind.

Instead, Alec opened the bag, took out the little kit he had packed in there earlier and began to remove paintings from the wall. He carefully separated each painting from its frame, then rolled it up in a tube, and put it back in the bag.

Alec did this to all the paintings in the room before moving onto the room next door. He worked quickly and methodically, getting as many paintings as he could.

Once he had filled a few bags, and sat them down in the flowerbed below an open window, Alec finally made his way to the front of the house.

As he walked down the hall, he saw Ragnor and Catarina doing the same. They had climbed in through the open windows and were cleaning out all the rooms Alec couldn’t.

Alec made it outside just as the fire trucks pulled up. The manor’s front yard was filled with disgruntled party guests. He did a quick scan of the lawn and spotted Jace standing off to the side alone.

He walked over to Jace, carefully walking through the crowd. Alec didn’t want to anger a guest any further and bring unwanted attention to himself. He made it to Jace’s side and the two of them watched the firefighters jog into the house, some of them carrying bags of equipment.

“So, what happened back there?” Alec asked.

Jace shrugged. “I had just finished sending down the last bag when the door opened. He didn’t see me doing anything, but he yelled at me anyways. Said he was going to let Asmodeus know someone had been sneaking around his private rooms.”

Jace scratched the side of his face before he continued. “Raphael triggered the alarm and in all the confusion I got away from the guy.”

Alec nodded. “Good.”

The two of them stood in silence watching as party guests got fed up and began to leave. As the crowd thinned, Alec was able to spot Asmodeus. He stood off to the side of the lawn, ear pressed to his phone as he screamed at whoever was on the other line. Alec took in the sight for a minute more before he nudged Jace.

“Come on. We should go, we know how this ends.” The two brothers left, heading towards their own cars before they drove away.

Moments after they left, six firefighters exited the building. Each one had two black bags in hand. The group easily cut through the crowd and got into a firetruck, one with all of its windows rolled down.

The lights on the truck flickered on, and the truck pulled away.

The evening breeze moved through the truck and caught the hair of the driver, their long red hair fluttering in the wind as the truck drove down the street.


	8. Chapter Eight

_Magnus’ Apartment - Four Months Later_

Alec knocked twice, then took a step back to wait.

After a few moments, the door swung open, revealing Magnus. He looked at Alec in surprise.

“Alexander ... I wasn’t expecting you.”

Alec smiled. “Would you mind if I came in?”

“No, not at all. Come in,” he said, opening the door wider as he spoke. Alec stepped through, brushing up against Magnus as he did so.

Magnus softly closed the door behind him, following Alec as he walked towards the living room. 

Alec took a seat, and Magnus followed suit.

It was silent for a moment before Alec spoke. “So, how have you been?”

Magnus laughed. “You came all the way over here to ask how I was doing? You couldn’t just call?” He crossed his legs before answering. “Things have been quiet. I’m just starting to look into picking up another case.”

Alec nodded. “That’s good.”

Magnus crossed his legs before he spoke again. “Your siblings managed to get quite a few pieces out of the house.” He paused before continuing. “They never found the necklace though. I guess he sold it off.” Magnus looked down as he said it, avoiding Alec’s eyes.

Alec swallowed. “There was another reason I came here. After the job, I took some time off.” Magnus looked at him, confused. “I asked around a bit,” Alec said. “For your mother’s necklace.”

“You did what?” Magnus asked.

“Eventually, I tracked it down. Asmodeus had sold it off, and it somehow made its way to a little pawn shop in Paris.” 

Alec reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a small drawstring black bag.

Magnus stared at the bag, eyes wide. “Is that...?”

Alec nodded his head. Leaning forward, he placed the bag in Magnus’ open palm.

Magnus opened the bag and gently coaxed the necklace out of the bag. The large green pendant fell into his palm first, followed by the thin gold chain.

He stroked the pendant’s face reverently with one finger. “You didn’t have to. I had no idea you were going to.”

A smile tugged at the side of Alec’s face. “I know.”

Magnus looked up at him, staring at him with his eyes full of wonder. “Why?”

“I did it for you. I knew how much her necklace meant to you.” The two of them were silent, just staring at each other before Magnus jumped out of his seat.

He was across the room and in Alec’s lap in mere seconds. His hands were on Alec’s face, palms pressed to his cheeks, desperately kissing him. Magnus tilted his head, angling himself to a more comfortable position. The two kissed deeply for a moment before Magnus finally pulled back.

“I just... I don’t know what to say,” Alec chuckled, and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

“Well,” Alec started. “I didn’t have anything planned for the day. So, if you wanted to go out and do something...?” He trailed off.

“I hadn’t planned anything for the day.”

Alec grinned at Magnus answer. “That’s perfect.”

Magnus laughed. “Unbelievable,” he said, pulling Alec in again for another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's everything folks! 
> 
> From the bottom of my heart, I thank you so, so much for clicking on this fic, and then reading it through until the end. I hope you enjoyed it.


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